The Magpies had gone one up in the very first minute when Sefton Gonzalez went down in the box and referee Michael Salisbury immediately pointed to the spot; Josh O’Keefe stroking home past Chris Maxwell.

For North End it was different XIs each half and the changes at the break also brought a change around in score with Garner volleying home Paul Gallagher’s ring wing cross and then Hugill header the winner from Ben Pringle’s ball into the box.

Like the previous night at Bamber Bridge, Simon Grayson chose to utilise all his available squad; just Bailey Wright and Callum Robinson given a rest, but there was a surprise in the opening seconds as Gonzalez broke into the box and was sandwiched in between Paul Huntington and Liam Grimshaw.

The rangy forward took a tumble and youthful referee Salisbury pointed straight to the penalty spot. O’Keefe stepped up and although Chris Maxwell went the right way, the ball was just too high into the inside right side-netting to give the home side the lead.

The first half was a feisty affair with Carver, Gonzalez’s strike partner, lucky to stay on the pitch after a number of bad fouls that had Salisbury talk to him twice.

North End went closest to levelling matters on the stroke of half-time. A poor header out by Andy Teague found its way to John Welsh, but his low effort was deflected behind for a corner.

Chris Humphrey, playing as a right-wing back had shown what PNE had been missing in the first half with a number of positive runs and good balls into the box, which would have been a boost to his confidence after ten months out.

After a fresh team was introduced at the break it was all one-way traffic in the second half. Jordan Hugill was inches away from levelling matters in the first minute of the period; cushion volleying Eoin Doyle’s right wing cross over the keeper but also just over the bar after the Irishman has been found by Ben Pearson.

Gallagher then found Hugill on the byline, who in turn pulled the ball back for Garner, ten yards out with his back to goal. The No.14 spun and shot, but it was straight at the Chorley keeper.

The equaliser came on 57 minutes. A short corner from Ben Pringle on the right into Gallagher was then whipped into the front post and Joe Garner connected with a volley and fired into the bottom right hand corner from ten yards out.

On the hour mark Garner almost did it again, this time meeting Doyle’s cross, but this time he could only find the arms of Ashton in the home goal.

The scoreline was turned on its head on 64 minutes when a great deep cross from the right by Pringle found Jordan Hugill at the back post and the Teesider headed back across goal and into the bottom right hand corner, Ashton at full stretch unable to get near it.

The Lilywhites suffered a blow when Tommy Spurr was helped off the pitch in the closing stages, whilst the home side didn’t pose any further threat until the last few minutes, when Anders Lindegaard got down low to his left to deny Jack Lynch and then with the final kick of the game Liam Wood latched onto a flick on from former North Ender Scott Leather, but couldn’t direct his effort goalwards when one-on-one with North End’s Danish No.1.